Heat control iron and plug



J. KELLY ET AL' HEAT CONTROL IRON AND PLUG `Filed Dec. 1, 1937 Jan. 10,1939.

WITNESSES Patented 1 0, 1.939

HEAT ooN'raoL m'oNYAND PLUG L .mlm` Kelly, New York, N. Y.; ma 'James J.

. A Maloney, Leonia, N. J.

applic-:mn December 1, 1937, serial No. 117,482

6 Claims.

and plugs for electric irons or other electric utilizing devices, anobject being to .provide a con- /struction which will automaticallyunder certain circumstances provide a restrictedamount of currentandunder other circumstances will automatically supply the full supplyof current. Another object of the invention is to provide a heat controlplug for electric irons or the like u wherein a constant iiow of currentis provided to the iron at all times and when the iron is in 'useanadditional ilow of current, so that the iron is maintained warm at alltimes and at full' temperature while in actual use.

An Aadditional object of the invention is lto providefa heat controlplug which will continually control the amount ofcurrent supply, orwhich may be manually adjusted to causea constant full iiow oi currentat all times.

20 A further object, more specically, is to provide a heat control plugin which a double circuit in the plug is used, one of which includes aresistance and the other a short-circuiting structure designed to shortcircuit the resistance.

In the `accompanying drawing- Figure 1` is a side view of a well-knownelectric iron, the plug embodying the invention being shown inconnection thereof and in vertical section, said vertical section beingtaken on the line I-I of Figure 2; x

Figure 2 is a sectional view through the plug shown in Figure l, saidview being taken on the line 2 2;

Figure 3 is a sectional view similar to that shown in Figure 1 butillustrating. a modiiled form of the invention; and

Fig. 4 is a viewsimilar to the right-hand end of Fig. 1 but showing howthe device may be used with an ordinary plug.

Referring to the accompanying drawing by numerals, I indicates anelectric iron of any desired type provided with suitable terminals 2 anda plug guide 3. As is well known there are provided two terminals 2 foreach iron and when the plug 4 is inserted guide 3 guides the lowerpart(ci. 21a-25) This invention relates to heat control irons amount ofelectricity when the iron is stationary and in an upright positional;shown in Figurev 1. When the iron is moving or is tilted up so as torest on 'the member i I, the full current is applied lto the heatingcoil of the iron l. 5

The plug 4 is preferably made with acasing I2 of insulating material,for instance, rubber, Bakelite, libre, or the like. This casing ispreferably divided into two parts whichmay be secured together bysuitable bolts I3 and I4. Ar- -10 ranged within the vcasing is aconductor I5 which is preferably made from fiat strips of metal rivetedtogether at I6, with vsaid strips at the upper. part divided and spacedapart whereby stationary contacts I1 and I8 carried thereby l5 are alsospaced apart, and suitable screws i9 and hold these stationary contactsin positionv ready to be engaged by a movable contact 2| at any time.AsI the stationary contacts are both clamped by metal screws to themetal conductor 20 -I5 they are, therefore, both connected with thesocket terminal 8.

The lead-in wire 1 is connected by a screw 22 to a metal plate 23 towhich is secured one end of a resistance wire 24. The opposite end ofthe resistance wire 24 is secured to one ofdthe prongs Aof the conductori5 so that current passing from the lead-in wire 1 will pass through theresist- `ance 24 and conductor I5 to the terminal IB.

This occurs when the pendulum 25 is stationary 30 or-in the positionshown in Figure 1. The pendulum 25 is preferably made from some goodconducting material and is also preferably provided with a weight 26 andat the lower end with a strap 21 which encircles and pinches the movable35 conductor 2I so as to support the same. The conductors or contactsI1, .I8 and 2I are preferably carbon so as to take care oi any possibleslight sparking upon the making and breaking of the circuit. Ordinarilythere will be no sparking as the current will not be completely brokenat any time. rlhe pendulum 25 is pivotally mounted at 28 on the plate orconductor 23 and is also connected to the plate or conductor through acoil wire 29. It will be noted that '45 thependulum 25 and also one ofthe resistance coils 24 are both connected through plate 23 to the samelead-in wire 1. The lead-in wire 8 is connected by a screw 30, forinstance as shown in Figure l, to a conducting strip 3| which is 50bolted or otherwise rigidly secured to one end of the socket terminal 5.

When the parts are positioned as illustrated in Figure 1 and current isturned on, current will pass through lead-in -wire 1, conductor plate23,

when the same is not in use.

When the iron is moved over an article during an ironing operation, thependulum will swing and engage one of the stationary contacts Il and ,I8and, consequently, will short-circuit the resistance 24 whereupon thefull current will be supplied to the heating coils of the iron. Aslong', therefore, as the iron is in actual use pressing anarticle,substantially full current is being provided and, consequently, ampleheat is secured to perform the desired ironing operation. As soon as theiron stops moving and isy placed on the holder the parts will assume theposition shown in Figure 1 and the current will imniediately andautomatically be reduced so that the iron never overheats while it isstanding Stm. 1

' In Figure 3 a modified form of the invention is shown wherein theparts are identical with those'shown in Figure 1 .so that the samereference numerals will be usedexcept for certain' detail parts.. Inthis form of the inventionl the' contact Il'is slidably mounted in ametallic socket 32 connected to or formed integral with conductor I5. Arod 33 is secured to the contact Ii' and is iprovided with a shoulderand hem so that when the rod `is reciprocated the contact will also bereciprocated. -The hand-engaging member 3 4 of insulation is secured tothe outer end of rod, 33 and confines a. spring 35 between the member 34and the body of the plug Il. This spring acts to hold the parts in theposition shown in Figure 3.

Whenever it is desired to have the Ifull current on at all times thehand of the operator grasping the handle 36 will merely move slightlytoward the plug 4 and push the member Stand associated parts to theright as shown in Figure 3 until the contact I'I shifts the movablecontact 2I over into continuous engagement with the stationary contactI8. When this occurs the resistance is completely short-circuited andthe full current will iiow through the heating coils in the iron aslong` as the parts. remain in this position. However, if the iron isactuated as described and then placed on the holder, the parts willquickly resume the'position shown in Figure 3 as soonC as. thehand oftheoperator moves away from the hand member 34'.

-It will be observed that the plug has beenJ shown in connection with acertain kind of iron,

' butit will be .understood that it can be used in connection with othertypes of irons and when the terminals 2 extend at an angie to thehorizontal the lower part of the plug is bent at a desired angle so thatthe upper part will be vertical when the bottom o'f the iron is in a.horizontalposition.

In Fig. 4the invention has been appliedpermanentiy to the yiron I and,consequently, an ordinary plug 31 may be used. The form of the inventionshown in Fig. has been illustrated in Fig. 4 and therefore will need noadditional description except that the form shown in Fig. 4

Inv

is mounted as a permanent part of the iron and provided with a plugsocket 38 havingf the usual terminals 2 designed to accommodate the plug31 oi the kind that is nowcommonly in use on,

the open market. If desired, instead of having the structure shown inFig. 1, the structure shown in Fig. ii-could be used. In thislatterstructure there is provided the member 34 whereby a man- .uaiclosing o! the circuit may be secured. When anordinary iron is used asshown in Figs. 1 and `3, oneof the special plugs illustrated in Figs. l,and 3 must be used. If the structure shown in Fig. 4 is provided thenan ordinary cord 39 and an ordinary plug 31 could be used.

We claim: l. A heat control plug comprising a casing, a

pair of terminals, means for connecting one lead-l in wire to one ofsaid terminals, and means for connecting the other lead-in wire'to .theother terminal, said last-mentioned means including a conductor formedwith a resistance section, a

stationary contact at the end of said resistance section nearest saidother terminal, a second sta'- tionary contact electrically connected tosaid other terminal, a swinging pendulum electrically connected to thesecond of said lead-in wires, and a movable contact carried by saidpendulum between said stationary contacts whereby when said movablecontact is free f said stationary contacts current will iiow to saidother terminal only through the conductor having said resistance sectionand when in engagement with either of' said stationary contacts currentwill ilow to said other terminal through the conductor including saidresistance section and through said pendulum and one of said stationarycontacts' said(7 pendulum being positioned to short circuit saidresistancerwhen the iron using the plug is set on end.

2. A heat control plug for electric irons having a pair voi! terminals,comprising a. casing of insulating material, a pair of socket terminals.

adapted to t over the terminals of said iron, a conductor for connectingone of said socketl terminals with a source of current, and means forconnecting the other socket terminal with said source of current, saidmeans including a pair of spaced stationary contacts, a conductorsecuredto said other socket terminal connecting said stationary contacts, aresistance connecting one of said stationary contacts with said sourceof current, a pendulum formed `of conducting material electricallyconnected with said source of current, and a swinging contact carried bysaid'pendulum between said stationary contacts whereby when the pendulumswings in one direction said swinging contact will engage one of saidstationary contacts and when swung in the opposite direction will engagethe other stationary contact for switching said resistance in and outoil the circuit.

3. A' heat control plug for an electriairon including a pair ofterminals, a conductor for connecting one of said terminals to a sourceof current, means for connecting the other terminal '-tosaid' source ofcurrent, said means including a resistance and a swinging pendulum forshortcircuiting said resistance when moved to either of its extreme.positions and hand-actuated means for holding said pendulum in one ofits extreme positions. l

4. A heat control plug comprising a pair of terminals, a conductorconnecting one of said .terminals to a'source of current, meansconnecting the other terminal to 'said source of current. 75

said means including a conductor secured to said other terminal, a pairof spaced contacts carried by said second-mentioned conductor, aresistance connecting said second-mentioned conductor to said source ofcurrent; a pendulum of conducting material electrically connected withsaid source of current and positioned to swing ba'ck and forth betweensaid contacts whereby whenever the pendulum engages either of saidcontacts said resistance will be short-circuited, a

sliding bar for moving one of said contacts to.-

ward the other sufficiently to cause said contact to grip part of saidpendulum between said consaid bar.

5. A heat control plug for electric irons comprising a casing, a pair ofterminals, a conductor for connecting a lead-in wire to one of saidterminals, a preliminary terminal connected `to the other lead-in wire,and a swing switch member for connecting said preliminary terminal tothe other terminal of said iron, said swing switch being positioned tofunction when said iron is resting on one end.

6. In a device of the character described, a pendulum actuated switchincluding a pair of terminals, aconductor for connectingr one of saidterminalsto a source of current, and means for connecting either of saidterminals with said source of current, said means including a conductorelectrically connected to said other terminal and a pair of spacedcontacts carried by the last-mentioned conductor, a resistanceconnecting said last-mentioned conductor to said tacts and ahand-actuated member for moving v' source of current and a pendulum'connected to said source of current positioned to swing back and forthbetween said spaced contacts and to engage a contact when swinging to anextreme position in either direction for throwing said resistance in andout of circuit.

JOHN KELLY.

JAMES J. MALONEY.

